HD DVD Encoders
Paper 1 – Valid HD DVD Video Streams |
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There is a considerable amount of confusion currently about HD DVD encoding due to many encoders advertising that they produce streams for HD DVD, when in fact the video they output is not a valid elementary stream for muxing in a professional authoring package.
The purpose of this white paper is to offer some clarity about which encoders work and which do not. This document is not intended to discuss in-depth features of each encoder. This paper is the result of our own testing and the collective feedback from the community. We expect to update this paper frequently, as this is an area of rapid change and we plan to publish a series of papers that will offer tips on achieving maximum picture quality for the various encoding solutions.
Please contact us with updated information if you see an error in this document. Feel free to recommend an encoding solution if we have not included it in this list.
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| A Quick Introduction to HD DVD Codecs |
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HD DVD supports three video codecs: Mpeg-2, SMPTE VC-1 and h.264/AVC.
Mpeg-2 is the venerable codec that we have worked with in standard DVD for over a decade. There are many reliable Mpeg-2 encoders that can output a compliant HD stream. The downside of Mpeg-2 is that it is not nearly as efficient as VC-1 or AVC, so it requires higher data rates (and larger file sizes) to achieve similar quality results.
SMPTE VC-1 is a new standard that is based on the Windows Media 9 codec from Microsoft. VC-1 is more efficient than Mpeg-2 and can achieve high quality results in the 15mbs range. There are numerous licensing entities involved in the VC-1 standard which has lead to the greatest number of encoders falsely claiming HD DVD output. Most currently available HD DVD titles are VC-1.
AVC is the newest of the three codecs and is the most advanced. AVC encoded streams can often achieve the same quality of Mpeg-2 at one half the data rate. The relative complexity of the codec compared to VC-1 and Mpeg-2 and the fact that it is new means there are not as many encoding options for AVC.
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| Snapshot of Encoders/Transcoders |
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| Encoders/Transcoders |
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Cinemacraft HD Encoder
Product Website
AVC - $75k
Commonly referred to as CC-HDe, this is a high quality, high end encoder.
Sonic Cinevision
Product Website
VC-1 - $30k / AVC - $30k / Mpeg-2 $20k
Cinevison is a high quality encoder that outputs all three formats. You can purchase the output options a-la-carte or as a package.
MS PEP (now sold by Sonic as the Cinevision PSE)
Product Website
VC-1 - $30k
This is the Microsoft Parallel Encoder released as a commercial product. This encoder has been used on the majority of commercially available HD DVD titles.
Optibase Mpeg-2 HD
Product Website
Mpeg-2 - $25k
Optibase encoders are well known in standard DVD production. Their Mpeg-2 HD card is a real-time HD solution. The company is focused on the IPTV landscape more than discs these days, but the card produces reliable results.
Rhozet Carbon Coder
Product Website
Mpeg-2 / VC-1 $4995
Rhozet Carbon Coder is the big brother of Canopus ProCoder. They share the same interface but Carbon Coder offers many more output options. The Mpeg-2 is good quality and valid for HD DVD. The VC-1 output in v.2 is not a valid elementary stream. V.3 releases in September and Rhozet says it will create valid VC-1 for HD DVD. Carbon Coder is also quite useful for generating YUV files from other sources for use with the PEP encoder.
MainConcept
Product Website
AVC - $ not released
Known for their codec SDKs, the MainConcept AVC SDK creates valid AVC streams. In its current form it does not have a UI or publicly available pricing, so we’ll categorize this as “coming soon.”
PixelTools
Product Website
Mpeg-2 – Expert RepairHD $4995 / AVC – Expert-H264 - $995
PixelTools MpegRepair is a powerful Mpeg-2 encoder that features segment re-encoding and other high-end features. Their AVC component does not create valid HD DVD streams today but fixes are in the works for future versions.
Apple Compressor
Product Website
Mpeg-2 / AVC Included in the Final Cut Pro suite ($1199)
Apple Compressor is a good, fast, affordable Mpeg-2 solution. Compressor has templates for HD DVD, but the templates are “AVC for DVD Studio Pro” and “AVC for Apple Devices”. Compressor wraps the AVC stream in a Quicktime wrapper that can only be used by its own product. It does not output an AVC stream that will mux in a professional application.
Telestream Episode
Product Website
VC-1 – Episode - $395, Episode Pro - $895
The Telestream Episode Encoder can be integrated with Apple Compressor or used as a standalone application. Unfortunately, the VC-1 output is not a valid elementary stream and is therefore useless for professional HD DVD production.
Inlet Fathom
Product Website
VC-1 - $30k
Fathom advertised itself as an HD DVD solution until very recently. Unfortunately, the VC-1 output was not SMPTE VC-1, but rather it was wrapped in a WMV shell so it does not mux in a professional application. Inlet’s recent website re-design suggests they are focusing on WMV HD and Flash.
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